Microcontrollers units (MCUs) are small computers formed on integrated circuits. MCUs provide embedded control of a wide range of devices, such as office machines, appliances, automobile engine control systems, implantable medical devices, power tools, toys, etc.
MCUs include a central processing unit (CPU) and memory. The CPU executes a program (hereinafter referred to as an embedded program) stored in memory. MCUs also include other components such as analog-to-digital converters (ADCs), digital-to-analog converters (DACs), comparators, timer/counter (T/C) units, etc., many of which are configurable by the CPU. These components cooperate with the CPU to improve overall MCU performance.